German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall is ready to significantly increase production of tank and artillery ammunitionto satisfy the strong demand in Ukraine and the West, and may begin manufacturing HIMARS multiple-launch missile systems in Germanythe company’s CEO Armin Paperger told Reuters.
He was speaking days before German defense industry chiefs are to meet new Defense Minister Boris Pistorius for the first time, although the exact date has yet to be announced.
By organizing the meeting, Pistorius aims to open talks on how to speed up arms supplies and increase ammunition supplies in the long term, after almost a year of arms donations to Ukraine depleted the German military’s stockpiles.
Rheinmetall manufactures a wide range of defense products, but is probably best known for producing the 120mm gun on the Leopard 2 tank.
“We can produce 240,000 rounds of tank ammunition (120mm) a year, which is more than the entire world needs,” Paperger said in an interview with Reuters.
The capacity to produce 155mm artillery shells could be increased to 450,000-500,000 per year, he added, which would make Rheinmetall the largest producer of both types of ammunition.
Demand for these munitions has surged since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, not only because of their widespread use on the battlefield, but also as Western militaries replenish their own stockpiles in preparation for an “increased threat from Moscow.”
At the same time, Rheinmetall is negotiating with Lockheed Martin, the American company producing the HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) rocket systems.which are heavily used by Ukrainian troops, Paperger said.
“At the Munich Security Conference, we are looking to reach an agreement with Lockheed Martin to start production of HIMARS (in Germany),” he said, referring to the annual meeting of political and defense leaders in mid-February.
“We have the technology to produce the warheads as well as the rocket engines – and we have the trucks to mount the installations on,” Paperger said, adding that a deal could trigger investments of several hundred million euros, of which Rheinmetall would finance a major part .
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